Present open gutter systems clog easily and quickly, developing blockages that cannot be detected or cleaned from the ground. Gutter cover systems are usually essentially filters which also clog, defeating their intended function. They further do not prevent the build up of organic material inside, but they do make access to the gutter interior very difficult for cleaning or any other purpose, if needed.
There have been numerous attempts to deal with the perennial problem of gutter debris and gutter clogging. Most of the attempts involve some kind of filtration technique. Such techniques do not remove the problems; they merely relocate them. Filters of all types exist for gutter channels as well as specifically for downspouts.
Cleaning devices are also abundant on the market. Everything from self-propelled robots which require standing on a ladder to operate, to inverted hose nozzles which purport to operate from the ground, but afford no way to view the operation, to rope-operated tongs which operate equally blindly, have been proposed and/or marketed with severe limitations in practical effectiveness.
Several US patents show ways of preventing clogs (U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,816 to Naddy and U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,618 to Jones), detecting clogs (U.S. Pat. No. 7,401,571 to Creed), and cleaning clogs (U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,028 to Pinion and U.S. Pat. No. 7,334,369 to Carson).